


Forever Sisters

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-01-31
Updated: 2009-01-31
Packaged: 2019-01-19 05:17:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12403983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: They were still sisters. Despite everything they went through, they were sisters, and nothing could make them want to change that.One Shot on some Narcissa/Andromeda sisterly love. For my best friend.





	Forever Sisters

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

_A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost._ ~Marion C. Garretty  
  
“She’ll kill us if she ever finds out about this.”  
  
“Oh, calm down. There’s no fun in anything without a hint of danger, now is there?”  
  
Narcissa and Andromeda were lying breathlessly across Andromeda’s bed. They had just been sneaking around in their elder sisters bedroom. It was Bella’s first summer back from school, and she was naturally distant. The change in Bella made her sisters’ curious-hence, the sneaking about her room. Oh, pictures of the castle, pictures of friends, letters from friends, love letters from _boys_ -it was too good to resist. They probably did a too good job of snooping, which is why they became so nervous when they heard Bella coming up the stairs into her room. They barely made it out the door before Bella came into sight.  
  
Andromeda laughed as she reached down underneath her bed and pulled out two Chocolate Frogs. She always had a secret candy stash under her bed. Grinning, she handed one to Narcissa, ripping open the other. They chewed happily, as they looked at the cards. It wasn’t the first time they’d done this together, nor would it be the last. It was one of their favorite moments together-laughing, eating candy, reading the cards, dreaming of the adventures they would have in the future that would get them on the Chocolate Frog cards one day.  
  
Narcissa knew that when she grew old, these were the memories she’d never leave behind.   
  
_Of two sisters one is always the watcher, one the dancer._ ~Louise Gluick  
  
“Write to me every day, promise?”  
  
Andromeda laughed. “I promise, Ciss. You’ll get sick of me!”  
  
“No I won’t, and you know it.” Narcissa’s tone turned soft. When Bella left for school, it was all right, because Narcissa wasn’t alone. And now…well, now she had nobody.  
  
“Ciss,” Andromeda was gentle. “Ciss, you’ll do fine at home. You don’t need to stress out about it. We’ll write everyday and I’ll come home every holiday. We’ll never grow apart.”  
  
Narcissa smiled. Slowly, she leaned forward and whispered in Meda’s ear-“Make a name for yourself, Meda. Make a good name for yourself-don’t hold back. Promise me?”  
  
Andromeda hugged Narcissa. She breathed into her ear-“If you’ll promise me you’ll never become a Bella. You have to promise you’ll always be my best friend.”  
  
Narcissa smiled and hugged her sister tightly. She didn’t cry as she watched the Hogwarts Express take away her best friend-this was a new beginning for Andromeda. Which meant it was a new beginning for the both of them.  
  
 _My sister taught me everything I really need to know, and she was only in sixth grade at the time._ ~Linda Sunshine  
  
“I’ll be in the wrong house, I just know it! I’ll be disowned for sure. They've been fuming ever since you were sorted, and I'll probably throw them over the edge if I'm sorted like you.”  
  
Andromeda sighed. “No you won’t, Ciss. There is no wrong house. You’ll get sorted into whatever house suits you best. And mother and father won’t disown you for being yourself-it’s what you do with who you are that will determine their pride in you.”  
  
“You actually believe that?”  
  
Andromeda only half believed it. After all, she hadn’t yet been disowned for being in Gryffindor. But her parents still were displeased about it. It was only a matter of time, not because of the house, but because of who she was, that she’d be disinherited.   
  
“In your case, yes, I really believe it.”  
  
“Oh,” Narcissa paused. “Well, nobody will like me. I can right now! All the first years look like they have their friends already, just look around! I’ll never fit in. I’m too whiny, too stupid, too shallow…” Narcissa looked up; there were tears swimming in her eyes.  
  
“Cissa,” Andromeda got close to her sister. “Anybody who dislikes you is a fool. You’re smarter and stronger than you think, and Hogwarts will prove it. I can feel it in my bones, kid; you’ll make a name here. You’ll teach everybody what Narcissa Black can really do-” Andromeda finished buttoning Narcissa’s robes. “All you have to do is figure out who Narcissa Black is. Find out, and stick with it the rest of your life. You’ll be set. Trust me.”  
  
Narcissa smiled. Later that night, she had no fear as she stepped up to get sorted.   
Slytherin-Andromeda had a feeling. She wasn’t happy about it, nor was she upset. It was Narcissa, and she knew Narcissa would survive without her.  
  
 _Between sisters, often, the child's cry never dies down. "Never leave me," it says; "do not abandon me.”_ ~Louise Bernikow  
  
Crashes were frequent from downstairs. Family meeting normally ended with such. This one was special-this one was called together by _Andromeda_.  
  
As children, Narcissa, Sirius and Regulus were not allowed to be involved. It wasn’t hard to hear what was going on though. From the sounds of it, we had a blood traitor in our midst. And the choices given to her by our father…well, they weren’t what Meda wanted to hear.  
  
The door slammed open and Andromeda came running upstairs. “I don’t need your permission, I don’t need your money and I don’t need YOU!” She screamed. She ran up the stairs to the landing where the children were listening, then collapsed onto her knees sobbing. “I love him. I don’t care. I love him…”  
  
Regulus bought into the pureblood state of our family. He stood up and stared down at her disgusted. Then he turned and walked away-he was through with Andromeda. This angered Sirius. “PRAT!” He screamed at his little brother, and he crawled over to comfort Andromeda. He looked at Narcissa, beckoning her to go help her sister.  
  
She wanted to. She wanted to hold her and tell her that everything would be all right. But that would mean Meda would have the strength to leave home forever. And much as Narcissa loved her sister, she was too selfish to let that happen. The way she saw it, Andromeda loved this Tonks boy more than she loved Narcissa. And that wasn’t all right.  
  
Slowly, Narcissa stood. She stared down at her sister. “Have a great life with the mudblood,” she sneered, “You’ll be happier with him than you ever were here with me.”  
  
And with that, she turned and ran after Regulus.   
  
_What's the good of news if you haven't a sister to share it?_ ~Jenny DeVries  
  
Whoever said that a girls wedding day was the best day of her life was a damned fool.  
  
She seriously doubted she’d be able to walk up the aisle without passing out. Nobody who was supposed to be here was here-Sirius, Regulus, _Meda_. She hated having Bella as her only bridesmaid. Not that she hated _Bella_ , of course. She just didn’t belong in that position. All her life, Narcissa knew she’d have a small, elegant wedding with one bridesmaid. And she always pictured it would be Andromeda. But no, they weren’t family any longer. And her bridesmaid had to be a sister-if not because that’s what she wanted, because that’s what her family wanted from her.   
  
Bella didn’t pay attention. She stood up at the alter, twirling her hair, sending flirty glances over at the Lestrange man Narcissa despised. Andromeda would have made it Narcissa’s day. She would have assured her she loved Lucius before the wedding when Narcissa caught cold feet. All through the service, she would have given encouraging smiles to her little sister. And at the “I dos”, she would have cried. But no, none of that. Just another, ordinary, Bellatrix-is-the-center-of-everything day.   
  
As Narcissa turned around to face her guests as a wife, she saw a figure in the back of the chapel. She knew nobody else saw it, and it was only there for an instant. But Narcissa knew, without a doubt, Andromeda had been there.  
  
 _How do people make it through life without a sister?_ ~Sara Corpening  
  
Pain beyond she ever imagined. Dear God, she thought. If childbirth was really this painful, why do people do it so often?  
  
She almost gave birth with no coach. Lucius had to work. He’d never say it out loud, but missing his son’s birth would be the deepest regret of his life. And, well, there wasn’t really another person to do it. Bella was on a mission for the Dark Lord, and the rest of her family was either too old, too busy, or just didn’t care.   
  
She doubted she’d make it. She was sure something would go wrong. Nothing did. Narcissa and her baby were making quite a commotion in the Healers lounge. Eventually, Healer Andromeda Tonks heard about it through the grapevine. Despite what they’d been through, she knew she had to help. As quickly as she could she rushed to her sisters side. Andromeda saved her nephew.  
  
Narcissa didn’t notice her coach during the delivery; she was too out of it. About an hour after the birth, she realized who it was. She looked at her sister helplessly-no words to describe how she felt. Andromeda understood.  
  
“Don’t tell mother.” And with that, Andromeda left Narcissa’s side.  
  
 _Is solace anywhere more comforting than in the arms of a sister?_ ~Alice Walker  
  
She saw it happen. She saw her only niece die. She saw Bella-her sister and her supposed _friend_ \- cast the spell, and she saw her niece crumple, the life drained from her body. Narcissa knew that somewhere, miles away, a bit of Andromeda had just died too. And somehow, after all they had been through, Narcissa felt a piece of her die away as well.  
  
 _You can kid the world. But not your sister._ ~ Charlotte Gray  
  
After the final war, there was a memorial service that was held at Hogwarts for all who died-people from both the dark and light side. This amazed Narcissa. Had the Death Eaters won, there wouldn’t be any mourning, not even for their people lost. She went, of course, dragged her whole family along. It just felt right for them to go, the closure Narcissa needed. Andromeda was there of course, draped in black with a small navy-haired child. She sat with the Weaslys, about six rows in front of the Malfoys. Narcissa didn’t pay attention during the entire service. When her ‘Meda left, it felt like she had lost her everything. But then, looking at her big sister, who had lost her husband, daughter, and son-in-law within a matter of months, she learned the real definition of heartbreak.  
  
 _Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there. ~ Anonymous_  
  
After the service, all who attended were gathered with their families. Despite their losses, they still had their remaining families to depend on. Andromeda stood apart from the crowd, squatting underneath a huge oak tree near the lake. Teddy was with his godfather, where he belonged. Slowly, Narcissa made her way over to her only remaining sister. Gently, she knelt down beside her. For the longest time Andromeda didn’t acknowledge her-she just kept staring out onto the crystal water. Eventually, she looked over at Narcissa. No words were exchanged, only tears. The past could never leave them. But right then, at that moment, they both realized one thing-through the good and the bad, they were sisters. They couldn’t change that. And if they could, they wouldn’t want to.  
  
 _There is no better friend than a sister. And there is no better sister than you. ~ Anonymous_


End file.
